If you want to see the world’s most venerable bad boys in action in 2012, you’ve got two choices. You can jump the pond and catch them in November at the O2 Arena in London. Or you can head to the biggest concert venue in the biggest city in the Garden State.

"A legendary band is going to do a once-in-a-lifetime performance at Prudential Center," says Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek, the managing partner of the organization that books the arena. "It doesn’t get any better than that."

The long-running firm of Jagger, Richards, Watts and Wood is celebrating its 50th anniversary (sure, Ronnie Wood wasn’t there in 1962, but let’s not quibble) with the briefest tour in Stones history: four dates, two of them at the Prudential Center on Dec. 13 and 15. In a video announcement, the band promised guest performers at the concerts.

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The shows are another in a string of impressive bookings for the Prudential Center, which faces tougher competition for touring acts now that the Barclays Center has opened in Brooklyn. Prudential lost basketball team the Nets, who were temporary tenants, to Brooklyn earlier this year. Barclays was also a rumored landing place for the Stones. But the Barclays calendar is crammed with December happenings, which may have interfered with the Stones’ plan to shoot the concert for a pay-per-view event. "One More Shot," to be filmed at the Dec. 15 show, requires substantial set-up time for cameras — something the Newark arena will be able to provide.